Songs of the North West
by Dark-Lady-Devinity
Summary: A Series of North American Drabbles. Stories involving Canada, America, Mexico and Newfoundland. Appearences by other nations as well. Its a combination of history and family stories. Not all stories are accurate. COMPLETED
1. Standing into Danger

**Songs of the North West**

_A Series of North American Drabbles_

Dark Lady Devinity

**A/N: **So this is going to be a series of stories around Canada, America, Newfoundland & Labrador (as it was its own country) and Mexico, with appearances by other nations. Both Newfoundland and Mexico are girls in my stories. These drabbles are not in chronological order. And I don't own Hetalia.

First drabble is about Newfoundland and America and the events of February 18th, 1942.

**Standing into Danger**

It's 1979. Sarah is still not used to Matthew's house despite being a Canadian province for thirty years now. Finally, she finds the sitting room and she sits down, getting comfortable. Cassie Brown, a journalist and one of her people, had just published a new book about Newfoundland's history. It was called Standing into Danger. Then Sarah sees that the book is about the wrecks of two of Alfred's ships and she's taken back many years.

It's 1942. Sarah is staying in St. Lawrence for a little while. She should be in St. John's or maybe at any of the American bases that she played host to; a proud nation doing her best to help in the war effort. But she was needed with her people too.

It was early morning on Ash Wednesday and Sarah was at the church when she saw men hurrying about. Soon, she found out that ships had crashed into the cliff walls and there were men in need of rescue. Sarah was horrified as the seas were rough due to a heavy winter storm. Still, she stayed in St. Lawrence with the women while the men went and tried to rescue the men. She'd still have just as much work to do there. And she was right; navy men were brought back after being hauled from the waters and cliffs with rope, frozen from the icy cold Atlantic waters and drenched in oil. Women ran around, helping the survivors into warm houses to thaw their bodies and clean the oil from their skin.

Sarah found herself helping a young man that gave off a sensation similar to what other nations gave off. She ignored it in favour of warming the poor soul and attempting to wash the oil from his hair. But first, she would remove his glasses.

"Hey! Don't touch Texas!"

"Tex… Alfred!" Sarah cried as she finally recognized the bright blue eyes and round face of her younger brother. She swore to herself that she would have known who it was if it wasn't for the oil dying the man's hair black.

Alfred looked up at the elder with wide eyes. He had been too tired to take notice of her before.

"What happened?" Sarah asked. "Why are you here?"

"I was on the Truxtun. The Wilkes and Truxtun were escorting the Pollux to the base in Placentia Bay." Alfred said.

"Well, me son, you missed that goal. You're in St. Lawrence. Your ship crashed in Chambers Cove. You're lucky to be alive. The waters there are… it doesn't matter. Come inside."

"No, I have to go to my men. I need to see that they're okay." Alfred insisted but he was too stiff to fight Sarah off.

"At least let me get the oil off your skin first. You're black as soot." Sarah said. "We'll see the men then, okay? What were you doing with the navy anyway? Aren't you air force?"

"It was a simple enough mission. I thought it would be fun." Alfred said. His tone was bitter and he clung to Sarah as she gently led him into a home.

He would cling to her again when he learned how many men had died. He would not cry in public or private, but he mourned openly in front of Sarah when it was just the two of them. It helped to have family there but the loss cut deep.

Two hundred and three men dead.

It's 1979. Sarah decided that maybe she'll read the book another day. Then she goes to call Alfred just to see how he's doing.

**End**

**Some notes:**

On February 18th, 1942, the American naval ships the Truxtun, the Pollux and the Wilkes all crashed off the coast of Newfoundland between the communities of Lawn and St. Lawrence. There was a serve winter storm on the go, little visibility and the coast line was pretty dangerous. The ships had gone off course, no one was paying attention to the radar and there was no radio contact between the ships. There was radio silence to protect the ships from German u-boats. (Later that same year, in October, a German u-boat would sink the Newfoundland ship The Caribou, which had women and children on board.) The ships were heading to Placentia Bay but eneded up too far south. The Wilkes went ashore in a pretty safe place. It didn't sink and no one was hurt. The Truxtun and Pollux weren't so fortunate. The ships broke apart. Survivors of these two ships ended up in areas that the local fishermen always avoided in bad weather. The locals of Lawn and St. Lawrence did everything they could to save the men. There were 185 survivors and 203 dead. The American government would build a hospital in St. Lawrence to thank the people of Newfoundland.

You can read about this in Cassie Brown's book "Standing into Danger."

Now, here's Sarah's bio:

**Sarah Abbott-Doyle aka Newfoundland (and Labrador)**

-independent nation in 1907 but with close ties to England

-joined Canada in 1949 (so would exist as a separate nation in cannon Hetalia)

-there was the real possibility of joining the US instead so she should be on good terms with both brothers

-in modern days, she just hangs out in Matthew's house and worries that if Quebec separates and becomes its own nation, then all Matthew's hair will fall out (as he inherited his hair from France)

-St. John's, her capital, is oldest city in North America so she'd be oldest of the three siblings

-black hair, sea green eyes and very pale skin


	2. When Hell Freezes Over

**Songs of the North West**

_A Series of North American Drabbles_

Dark Lady Devinity

**A/n: **In Michigan, there is a small community called Hell.

**When Hell Freezes Over**

The brothers were fighting. Other nations walked by and stopped to stare at the nearly identical nations, watching as the World Conference cafeteria was turned into a war ground. The nations were all horrified as they were thinking "There are two Americas!" The few that managed to realise that one was Canada were totally shocked. What reason could there possibly be that would explain an angry Canada?

Mexico sighed and hid her face behind her hands. She knew all the reasons for the personal arguments s between Matthew and Alfred as she would attend meetings with the two brothers when all three of their leaders got together. Maria had to admit that there were disadvantages to being a nation of North America with those two as nations as well. She had heard arguments about beer, about national symbols and even about the joint American-Canadian show "Due South." And today's argument?

"Hockey is too better than baseball!"

Sports.

The two boys yelled over the merits of their respective sports until Maria finally got fed up and yelled, "Just shut up already!"

"Not until Alfred admits that hockey is better!" Matthew said.

"I'll admit to that when hell freezes over." Alfred said.

**XxX**

Matthew had gone to visit Alfred that winter and the siblings met up in Michigan. It was a horrible day; cold, windy and wet with snow. And somehow, they got lost heading to Alfred's house. That was how they found the small community.

"Say it." Matthew said as he smiled brightly at the town sign and took in the gross winter conditions.

"Hockey is better than baseball." Alfred grumbled.

The sign said "Welcome to Hell."


	3. New Finland

**Songs of the North West**

_A Series of North American Drabbles_

Dark Lady Devinity

**A/n: **I _**AM**_ a Newfoundlander. I've never lived anywhere but Newfoundland. So stop telling me I'm wrong please.

**New Finland**

"Newfinland!" Matthew called out cheerfully and waved down Sarah. He had called his sister to the World Meeting when he decided that drastic measures needed to be taken to ensure that no one mistook him for Alfred again. So he had asked Sarah to bring a giant Canadian flag and a boom box that would only play the Canadian anthem and some beavers.

"Hi America!" Sarah greeted back. She smirked as Matthew died a little bit inside. She hated that not even her own little brother knew how to say her name.

Suddenly a dark shadow loomed over Sarah. Nervously, the ex-nation turned to face whoever was behind her. She sighed in relief when she was it was just Berwald.

"Hello Sweden." Sarah greeted.

"M'daughter?" Berwald questioned gruffly.

"What?" Sarah and Tino, who had been standing beside Berwald, both yelled.

"Um, Su-san?" Tino asked. "What are you taking about?"

"'S New Finland, wife." Berwald said and his face darkened as he seemed to realise something. "Father?"

"New Finland? Oh, that's just Canada being an idiot." Sarah said. "It's actually pronounced New-Found-Land."

However, Berwald stopped listening at "Canada" and went after the shy nation. However, he realised that he didn't know which nation was Canada and which one was America- as Sarah was still holding onto the items that Matthew had requested, so Sweden beat up both countries.

Tino and Sarah watched as Berwald went after the North American twins, classic anime sweat drops appearing along the side of their faces.

"Your husband is really jealous, isn't he?" Sarah asked.

"He's not my husband!" Tino yelled.


	4. Glasses

**Songs of the North West**

_A Series of North American Drabbles_

Dark Lady Devinity

**A/n: **I don't know much about Mexican-American history so this info came from Wikipedia.

This drabble is "How America Got His Glasses." (Remember, the glasses are symbolic of Texas.)

**Glasses**

Maria Gabriela Perez was a strange sight on the battle field. The strangest thing about the beautiful woman was her womanhood. Soldiers were men. Even more strange was the aura she gave off. She was no ordinary human. Nor was she facing an ordinary human. Alfred F. Jones was not as strange to see as Maria on the battlefield, perhaps, but he had that strange aura.

She was Mexico personified. He was the United States of America.

The war had started in 1846 and would end in 1848. Until then, there would be blood. Maria felt that Alfred had stolen from her while Alfred felt that he was appealing to the peoples' freedoms. Texas hung in the balance.

"You've already lost America." Maria said. The times when the two nations would use their mortal names to address each other were over.

Alfred shrugged. "I lost battles, yes. But I'll win the war. Your weapons are outdated as are your ways of firing them. I've got newer, better ways and I'm a hero."

"You mean you are a thief." Maria accused. "You take my lands. I have heard of your Manifest Destiny."

Alfred shifted uncomfortably. "You heard about that too then. Matthew doesn't like it either. But this isn't about that! The people of Texas willingly joined me. They declared independence!"

"Wayward children that do not understand where they belong." Maria stated.

And the war would continue.

XxX

When it was finally over, Maria went to face Alfred. She stood tall and proud, showing no shame at her lost.

"Here. You'll need these." The dark haired woman said and she handed Alfred a pair of glasses.

"What are these for?" Alfred asked.

"That's Texas."

**Notes:**

1. The war between Mexico and the US happened between 1846 and 1848 over rights to Texas.

2. Texas declared independence from Mexico. It willingly joined the US in 1845. Mexico told the US that there would be war if the US took Texas as a state. Mexico thought that they would eventually reclaim Texas.

3. One of the most famous battles was The Alamo. Mexico won that battle but lost the war.

4. Mexico was using outdates weapons. They were using old British muskets and firing from the hip. American soldiers were firing from the shoulder, which was more accurate.

5. Manifest Destiny was a belief in the States that they were destined to take over all of North America and part of central America. Americans who supported the war with Mexico supported Manifest Destiny.

6. Bit of Maria's bio:

_**Maria Gabriela Perez/Mexico**_

-declared independence in 1810, recognised in 1821

-black hair, brown eyes, tan skin


	5. Haunted Shores

**Songs of the North West**

_A Series of North American Drabbles_

Dark Lady Devinity

**A/n: **There are a lot of ghost stories/fairy tales in Newfoundland. _A lot._ Actually, this will tell you how much we know about fairies. My brothers and I were taking about a facebook quiz that my youngest brother did were he found out that he was most like England from Hetalia. I said that this means he could see fairies. My other brother said, "Well, he is a Newfoundlander."

I would love suggestions for stories, especially involving Mexico and its relations with Canada and America.

**Haunted Shores**

When they were little, Alfred would make friends with all the little woodland creatures and Matthew liked talking to polar bears. At the time, they were just animals but the boys had a special bond with the creatures. Sarah also loved animals, especially fish. However, Francis and Arthur never did understand their love of the animals. Francis preferred to make hats out of Matthew's friends while Arthur couldn't understand why the children did not want to play with the fairies instead.

Sometimes Arthur thought he had more in common with Antonio's little Maria. At least Mexico had interesting things like the Day of the Dead.

It didn't help any that Alfred called Arthur's friends "illusions." And Francis had taught Matthew to ignore the supernatural world. That only left Sarah and she was too busy being "hardy" and "living off the ocean." Sometimes, that girl was more concerned with an island lifestyle than Arthur was, even though the girl also had Labrador, which was on the mainland.

**XxX**

"Why don't you ever tell Arthur that you can see the fairies?" Matthew asked.

"You hallucinate too?" Alfred perked up as he heard the conversation between Matthew and Sarah. The northern colonies decided to ignore the southern colony.

"Because Arthur will just get himself in trouble. And they aren't fairies. They're pixies. There's a difference." Sarah said.

"What difference?" Matthew asked.

"Pixies drop children down wells." Sarah said.

**XxX**

Then, one night, Arthur visited Sarah while she had a house full of tokens. Sarah could not deny that she could see the spirits and so Arthur wanted to take the girl on an adventure to meet other supernatural creatures. He was disappointed to note that most of these creatures were ghosts although he did get to meet a beautiful mermaid. Then he met the pixies, who were totally uninterested in nation and colony as they had no bread. Finally, he took Sarah out on the marsh, were they got caught in a spontaneous blizzard.

"But it's April!" Arthur cried.

"So?" Sarah asked. It sometimes snowed in April. Often times, winter snow was still on the ground in April and wouldn't melt until May. It was a little late in the year for blizzards, yes, but not snow.

And then there were the bog lights.

Sarah cursed when she saw them and Arthur was quick to reprimand her but he was distracted by the glowing green-tinted lights. The nation excitedly went towards the lights in the hopes of getting to meet them. He thought that they were some form of fairy.

"No!" Sarah yelled and she tackled Arthur to the ground. Arthur glared at the little girl as he felt water and mud leak into his clothes.

"Now Sarah, I know what I'm doing." Arthur said.

"No, you don't! Bog lights are bad!" Sarah insisted. "Really bad! They show up on the bogs in bad weather and people follow them only to die. There are lots of spots in a marsh or bog that's like quicksand and you can't see them. The bog lights lead you to them so that you fall into them and you can't get out. This is why I didn't want to tell you I could see spirits and things. I knew that you'd go and find the mean ones!"

"Not all spirits are mean." Arthur said.

"I know that." Sarah said. "But you still found the bog lights."

Arthur smiled and picked the girl up. "Let's go home now. I'm just glad that someone else can see my fairies. Maybe you can tell Alfred that they're not illusions."

"No, b'y, I've already tried. It is impossible to get him to believe in fairies."

"Well, it was worth a try."

**End**

**Notes:**

1. "Haunted Shores" is a book by Dale Jarvis that is filled with Newfoundland "true" ghost stories (if you believe ghosts are real that is).

2. Fur trading was very popular in Canada's early days with both the French and English.

3. There are different versions of the pixies but they all have night, wood, bread and children in common. The story is that if a child goes out into the woods at night, they should turn out their pockets so that the pixies can see that they don't have any bread. If they do have bread, the pixies take them away. I heard one version that involved the pixies dropping children down wells. There might be slight differences depending on which part of the island you're on. But this is a classic legend!

4. Tokens are spirits that usually foreshadow danger or they just wander around. A woman claimed to see a token of her fiancée while her fiancée and other men were out on the ice during the seal hunt in 1914. Lots of men died because their captain left them on the ice during a blizzard. So the token was a sign that something had gone wrong. Her fiancée did return alive. Tokens are generally sad spirits and they are harmless.

5. Bog lights are pretty famous on the island and there is a legend about mermaids being on the island.


	6. Dog

**Songs of the North West**

_A Series of North American Drabbles_

Dark Lady Devinity

**A/n: **This is true crack based on a conversation in my science class. My lovely Mexican friend came to Newfoundland for high school. It was some sort of exchange-learn-English thing. A good handful of Mexicans and a couple Koreans came to the province to improve their English. (Lots of Newfoundlanders go to Korea to teach English as well.)

**Dog**

The leaders of Mexico, Canada and the United States were attending a very important conference. Meanwhile, the personifications of those nations were also having a conference of their own. Maria and Alfred were discussing something unimportant and, judging from the annoyed look on Maria's face, the conversation was either about cheeseburgers or Alfred being a hero. Matthew was sat in a corner with his polar bear, Kumajiro, and was being invisible again.

Suddenly, the conversation changed and Alfred asked, "Have you ever eaten dog before?"

Maria just looked at Alfred for a minute. That question had been so random. Then she said, point blank and dead serious, "Yes."

Matthew looked over at the woman. He couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or lying.

"Was it a cocker spaniel?" Alfred asked.

"How should I know?" Maria said. "It was dead and looked like meat!"

"Why a cocker spaniel?" Matthew asked. As usual, he was ignored.

They never did find out if Maria was telling the truth or not.

**End**

**A/n: **Andrea came to my school when I was in grade 10. So, early in the year, people wanted to get to know her. We're pretty white in Newfoundland, after all. There's more ethnic groups in the main part of St. John's but my school was all white kids and there was a Mexican (Andrea) and Korean attending our school so we asked lots of questions. Then, one day in science class, someone asked Andrea if she had ever eaten dog meat before. I don't remember how it even got brought up. But she said yes… I don't know if she was serious though. And this one girl asked if it was cocker spaniel. Seriously. Crack exists in real life.


	7. Twin Sides

**Songs of the North West**

_A Series of North American Drabbles_

Dark Lady Devinity

**Twin Sides**

Every July 1st reminds him that life is both sad and joyous, both hard and yet strangely easy. Two sides of a coin. Matthew wakes up particularly early every time his birthday comes around as he wants to be there for the sunrise on the island of Newfoundland. He tries to visit every province and territory on Canada Day.

Matthew meets Sarah at Signal Hill; the old fort looks out over the sea and Matthew is reminded why St. John's harbour is called the Narrows. Sarah is dressed in black and wearing the poppy that John McCrae made famous in his poem "In Flanders Fields." July 1st in Memorial Day in Newfoundland and Labrador. Sarah and Matthew join the members of the public and a few old veterans to remember the fallen heroes of the war. It is a solemn time. Later though, there will be joy. Matthew will be elsewhere, but Sarah will be down at Quidi Vidi that night, watching the fireworks and signing "Oh Canada."

Matthew goes west to visit the peoples of his other provinces and territories. There are not any former nations to meet him so he completely immerses himself in the crowds. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario were the first provinces to join Canada and it was from there that Matthew started to grow and develop his own personality; one separate from Arthur and Francis, England and France. He's laughing and joking in English and French, watching various parades and celebrations. New Brunswick always reminds Matthew that "two sides of a coin" really can describe different things. New Brunswick is the only truly bilingual province in Canada. Matthew feels that New Brunswick's achievement should be pointed out more often when speaking about French-English relations. He loves that he can slip into which ever language and still have the people understand him. He has to stop and visit Prince Edward Island before moving on to Quebec but he always loves to admire the beauty of the tiny province. Eventually, he'll see Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. He'll speak the native languages when he visits Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon.

He'll fly back to Ottawa, exhausted from jet lag. But it was all worth it. There might be many troubles in Canada, but that's how it is with any nation. He loves his people. Even when times are hard, he still thinks that they're good. A learning experience. A two sided coin.

And he'll need to be in Windsor that night to help with the upcoming party. Alfred understands why Matthew isn't in Windsor for the actual date of Canada Day. Alfred won't be in Detroit for the actual date of Independence Day. He also likes to visit all his states and see all his different peoples. Only a couple of days separate the two brothers' birthdays so they like to celebrate together. So Matthew will be in Windsor and Alfred will be in Detroit for a festival of freedom. America and Canada are two nations that have very different notions on a lot of things. Alfred is bright sunshine and energy while Matthew is crisp snow and peace. But they are both free. They're two sides of the same coin and there has never been a more lovely expression in Matthew's opinion.

**Notes**

-Canada Day is July 1st

-Newfoundland sees sunrise and sunset before the rest of Canada due to the time zones

-Newfoundland and Labrador are in different time zones despite being one province

-July 1st is the anniversary of the WWI battle in Beaumont Hamel (Battle of the Somme, 1916). In this battle, about 90% of the Newfoundland Regiment was wiped out. This battalion would be renamed the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.

-St. John's harbour is very, very narrow. Thus, it's an excellent safe haven.

-Quidi Vidi is a community and large lake in St. John's. That's where the St. John's Canada Day celebrations take place.

-Only New Brunswick is bilingual (I think 2/3 is English speaking and 1/3 is French speaking.) There are lots of bilingual people in Montreal but that doesn't mean the majority of people in Quebec speak English. It has small communities like everywhere else.

-July 4th is Independence Day in America.

-Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan are separated by the Detroit Strait. These two cities celebrate Canada Day and Independence Day with the International Freedom Festival. (Got this info from Wikipedia. I don't know the date of the actual festival so I'm pretending that in whatever year this story takes place in, it falls between Canada and America's birthday.)


	8. The First Time I Knew of You

**Songs of the North West**

_A Series of North American Drabbles_

Dark Lady Devinity

This story is about the first time Sarah, Alfred, Maria and Matthew saw Europeans. I'm going with the theory that nation-tans can understand each other no matter what, which is why France never speaks English when talking to England.

**The First Time I Knew of You**

_Newfoundland and Labrador/Sarah_

She was so young when she met them for the first time. She had many names at the time and yet no name at all. The natives of her island had a name for her and the multiple native tribes of her mainland heart had names for her too. All this time she had been a daughter of snow and that was why her skin was so pale. At least, that was what the peoples told her.

Then she saw the tall red haired man with skin that was much paler than any of her peoples. However, she was soon distracted by a young man with very pale hair, skin and eyes and his companion, who looked like the people of her mainland heart. But neither one felt like ordinary people. They felt different, like they were like her.

She was a brave thing. So she walked forward from her hiding spot and met the two strange feeling men.

"A nation?" the one that looked like her people said in surprise. "I wasn't expecting that. I guess that means that there are people living here?"

She didn't know how she understood the man; he wasn't speaking in the languages she knew. But when the normal men talked, though they spoke the language of the strange men, she did not understand them.

"She's not a nation yet." The man of such pale features said.

"Oh. Well, I'm Greenland, little one. This is Iceland." The other told her.

She smiled and told them one of her many names.

XxX

Years later and yet she was still so young. She was still a long way from being a nation. The two strangers and their people did not stay long as they did not get along well with her natives. She was beginning to lose the memory as she was distracted by her beautiful lands.

Then more strangers with pale skin came. She had watched their boat come in and had watched as the men got very excited over the fish they caught. She was used to there being many fish. She did not understand their excitement. Then they landed and she saw that there was another strange one among them like her. He had the pale hair that she had yet to become use to and the bushiest eyebrows that she had ever seen.

She did not come to greet him. She thought that he would be like the others and leave in a few years. She did not realize that he would change everything she knew.

_United States of America/Alfred_

He saw the men land and watched them look about the area. One was different than the rest and gave off an aura of familiarity. Like the man was similar to him in some way. The man was smiling brightly and he looked friendly but he was wearing strange clothes and did not look like the people the boy was used to seeing. The man wasn't quite so dark. Although the boy was certainly different in appearance from the people he knew as well.

He hugged a bunny close and wondered what to do. He wasn't afraid, per se, but the world was wild. Not everything was happiness and sunshine and bunnies. Sometimes it was dark and dangerous and thunder with lightning. He'd be cautious and just watch them at first.

Then the familiar one caught sight of him and waved cheerfully. The boy froze but then he carefully waved back. There was no need to be unfriendly. Maybe the man could be a great new friend!

"Aren't you cute?" the man asked when he got closer. "I wish Romano would act cuter. Anyway, I'm Spain but you can call me Antonio. Are you a nation?"

"A what?" the boy asked. He wasn't familiar with the word. Although, really, he shouldn't even be familiar with the man's language.

"Maybe you're not quite there yet." Spain said. "Anyway, can you tell me where the fountain of youth is?"

The boy wanted to answer but then his bunny escaped and hopped away. The boy squeaked and chased after his friend, completely forgetting about the stranger even though he laughed at the child's antics.

_Mexico/Maria_

She was unconcerned with the arrival of strangers. The Aztec empire was over 4000 years old and she was fearless. She trusted her own strength and that of her peoples. Things weren't always perfect but Mama Aztec said that it was okay.

Then she met the strange one that was like her and Mama. He called himself both Spain and Antonio and he was very sweet to her. However, his man Cortés was soon to start a campaign that would put an end to Mama and her empire.

_Canada/Matthew_

The boy didn't understand what the strange yellow haired man was doing with a bottle of red liquid in one hand and the other hand resting on another man's shoulder. The other man was not like the native peoples but he was not like the bottle holding man or the boy himself. He was… normal. And he did not appreciate the words of the bottle holding man even though he was deeply respectful of him.

The bottle holding man was talking about the pleasures of taking such a beautiful new world with a bottle of wine as a companion. From the look on the one that was like other people, there was another meaning behind the simple words.

The boy frowned but then smiled brightly. He was happy and loved the people that he knew dearly but it got to be lonely, especially when he was exploring the snowy plains up north. And that man was different, like him.

The boy walked towards the similar man and tugged on his jacket. The boy was so small, quiet and timid that he could pass by right in front of a person and go unnoticed.

The man looked down and said, "Oh! Bonjour. What a surprise."

"Um, are you here to be friends?" the boy asked.

"Another little brother? How wonderful." The man said. "I am France."

The boy smiled.

_The first time I knew of you and you had already begun to change my world._

**Notes: **

1. The first Europeans in North America were the Norse. Leif Ericson set up a settlement in Newfoundland around 1003 but had to abandon it.

2. Greenland is about 88% Inuit and Inuit-Danish mix, so Greenland looks like an Inuit in this story. It was an Icelandic settlement and now is part of Denmark. According to Wikipedia, Greenland is supposed to be a separate country within Demark effective this June. So Greenland should spontaneously have a nation-tan right? Anyway, Leif was living in Greenland so that's why he's here. Greenland was an Icelandic settlement at the time, so Iceland's here too.

3. John Cabot landed in Newfoundland in 1497. He was Italian but had been hired by England. So England gets credit for the discovery.

4. Juan Ponce de León landed in Florida in 1513. He was Spanish and is associated with the search for the Fountain of Youth (according to Wikipedia).

5. Hernán Cortés was Spanish and landed in Mexico in 1518. He conquered the Aztecs. (I discovered this on Wikipedia but I couldn't find out if he was actually the first person to land in Mexico).

6. Canada is both discovered first and last, lol. First discovery due to Newfoundland, but due to the nature of this series, Matthew was last. Jacques Cartier landed in Canada in 1534 as an explorer for France.

6. Christopher Columbus is considered the first person to discover the Americas after Leif Ericson but he landed in the Caribbean so he's not in this story.


	9. Chicken Soup

**Songs of the North West**

_A Series of North American Drabbles_

Dark Lady Devinity

**Chicken Soup**

Sarah pushed the hair off her face and pulled it into a loose ponytail before looking for her apron and a bandana. Today, she was going to take care of all the cleaning in Matthew's house. Matthew would be busy working with the health care service and listening to reports from the World Health Organization. Alfred and Maria were also very busy.

The Swine Flu situation had been updated to a pandemic.

Oh, the virus hadn't gotten any stronger, which was a relief, but people were beginning to feel panic and confusion over the new status anyway. They did not understand that the new status meant that the virus had simply spread to new places. Of course, this wasn't good either but it was still less worrisome than a mutating virus.

Sarah sighed and decided to start in on organizing Matthew's office. Later, to make her brother feel better, she would cook a dinner that had a lot of maple syrup in it. Matthew was very stressed. The swine flu had spread into almost all the provinces _and _all three territories. There was only one exception; Newfoundland and Labrador. Somehow, the virus hadn't passed into Labrador despite that part of the province sharing borders with other effected areas and Sarah was feeling pretty good. Her health care system was preparing for a spread of the virus into her lands if it should happen and the current recession in the world wasn't hurting her too badly. Really, Matthew shouldn't be out dealing with illnesses when he was suffering a slight cough from the recession. Although, it wasn't nearly so bad as poor Maria, who had been hit hardest by the swine flu, and Alfred, who had a full blown cold from the recession.

Sarah stopped what she was doing and frowned. It wasn't fair that the three nations were dealing with so much. She was going to do something about it, even if it wasn't much. The former nation walked into Matthew's large kitchen and began the search for the crucial ingredients. To work at its full effectiveness, the meal had to be made from scratch.

And, after all, didn't chicken soup cure everything?

**Notes:**

1. I don't like soup but isn't chicken soup what you're supposed to give someone with a cold?

2. I think we all know about swine flu, which started in Mexico and has spread into the States and Canada, along with other countries.

3. I read yesterday that WHO has updated the swine flu to pandemic due to its spreading. It has not gotten stronger though.

4. The swine flu is in all the provinces and territories of Canada except Newfoundland and Labrador (for now anyway). How it got into Nunavut and the Northwest Territories and not Labrador is a mystery to me but I'm not complaining. Newfoundland is an island so I would figure that it would be isolated enough that the virus didn't get here but swine flu is in PEI so out the window goes that theory.


	10. Fifty Ways of Living

**Songs of the North West**

_A Series of North American Drabbles_

Dark Lady Devinity

Notes in this chapter are numbered to correspond with the numbers in the drabble.

Some of these are based on the reviews I've gotten. And I've gotten so many reviews at that! Thank you everyone so much!

**Fifty Ways of Living**

**1. Piracy**

Arthur frowned as he found Sarah's bed empty and his old pirate outfit missing. He knew the girl would be out exploring the sea on ships with dangerous men. He should have never introduced the colony to that Easton fellow.

**2. Crooked**

Matthew stormed down the stairs of his house in an angry rage. Sarah took one look at her brother and said, "You're crooked this morning."

Matthew stared at her for a long time. Finally, he asked, "What?"

"You're crooked."

"I'm a thief?"

"Wait, what?"

**3. War Time Persona**

When the world wars occurred, Alfred would be Captain America while Matthew was James Bond.

**4. Shock Rock**

Alfred loves to watch scary movies; he thinks it makes him more heroic. If it's frightening, he's at the forefront of it. So it's no wonder that America is the birth place of shock rock and its father, the frightening yet amazingly talented Alice Cooper.

**5. Spicy**

For some reason unknown to Alfred, Matthew and Sarah, Maria loves to take candy and stick in into homemade chili powder.

**6. Cheech & Chong**

Maria and Matthew are watching television at Alfred's house with said nation sat in-between them. There's an old comedy show on and half way through, Alfred seems to realize something.

"I'm surrounded by druggies!" He leaps away from Maria and Matthew, forming a cross with his fingers like he was trying to repel vampires. "Stay away from me, you high hippies!"

"Huh?" Maria asks. She hadn't been paying attention until then.

Matthew sighs. "We're watching Cheech and Chong."

**7. Anthems**

"Why am I considered the goody-goody peaceful part of North America?" Matthew asks one day. "I can be tough!"

Maria and Alfred snort and Sarah sighs. The province decides to take pity on her brother and says, "It's because of our national anthem."

"What's wrong with my national anthem?" Matthew demands.

"It's not violent enough!" Alfred says and Maria nods in agreement. Matthew sighs and Sarah shares the sentiment.

**8. Boarder Hopping**

Maria wishes with all her heart that she could provide everything her people needed. They shouldn't have to illegally enter another country to meet their needs. Yet she does like to hop the border into America sometimes; it's funny to annoy Alfred.

**9. Hero**

"Superman is the all-American hero!" Alfred proclaims one day.

Matthew smirks. "Superman is Canadian."

**10. AU! Little Brother**

"Bonjour! Je m'appelle Quebec!" the little boy that looks strangely like Alfred claims.

Sarah looks down at the little province that has just become a nation. She wonders where he came from. Then Matthew walks into the room and he's completely bald.

**11. Fire**

Alfred is busy trying to keep British red coats from getting farther into his capitol. He doesn't see Matthew sneak over to the White House until it's too late. Maybe Alfred should realize that he's pushed his twin too far but there isn't time; he has to put out the fire threatening to devour the presidential home.

**12. Due South**

Matthew and Alfred are, for once, actually working together on a project that Matthew gets a lot of say in. Picking out actors is fun and discussing the scripts is fun. Matthew knows that Benton Fraser is a walking stereotype but he can't help but smile brightly when Alfred admits that Mounties are sexy.

**13. Seals**

Sarah decides that she hates the world when she goes out onto the ice and finds Alfred clutching a baby seal and standing in the way of the hunt.

"I won't let you hurt any baby seals!" Alfred says and he sets the white coated seal free in the cold Atlantic waters.

Sarah doesn't know what to tell her misinformed brother first; that it's illegal to club baby seals or that they can't swim.

**14. Aboot**

"What I like aboot-" Matthew said as he looked at the most recent budget, but Sarah interrupted him.

"When did we start talking about boots?" Sarah asked. Matthew sighed.

**15. George Street**

For some reason, family reunions in Newfoundland always ended up on George Street. Sarah, Matthew and Francis never understood why- Arthur couldn't hold his liquor and Alfred was used to beer that was much less alcoholic than what Matthew and Sarah drank. Sarah always ended up having to keep the two drunks from doing something stupid while Matthew had to keep Francis from groping one of them while their defenses were down.

**16. Zimmerman Telegram**

Ludwig must think that she was insane or something. He was actually asking her to support Germany in an attack against America. Maria frowned. Ludwig didn't have _live next to Alfred. _So it really wasn't hard to turn Ludwig down.

**17. Star Wars**

When Alfred heard about Ronald Regan's Star Wars plan, the nation thought that he was going to be sent into outer space to fight Darth Vader. He instantly began to made burgers to take on the flight.

**18. Choices**

Times were hard. Sarah found herself having to decide whether or not she could continue as an independent nation. Some of her people wanted to remain independent, some wanted to join America and others wanted to join Canada. So she put it to a vote and let the people tell her what they needed… she wondered what it would be like to be Canadian.

**19. Union**

Matthew was ecstatic that he had won her and not Alfred. Watching Sarah sign the papers of union was heartwarming; with her, he was never invisible.

**20. Tomato**

When Maria was little and still under Spanish rule, she found Antonio sat by the ocean and looking very sad. So she decided to cheer him up by giving him a tomato. She did not realize until much too late that she had just started Antonio in on his creepy tomato fetish.

**21. Glimpses**

Long before they were Maria, Matthew, Alfred and Sarah, long before they had any sort of nation, four small children would run wild through familiar lands. And sometimes, when they came to the edge of their world and another's, they would see another little child. But it was a rare thing.

**22. Bat Ladder**

"Alfred, why is everything Batman owns labeled?"

"Cause its awesome!"

**23. Rick Mercer**

"Sarah, I hate you and I hate your comedians!" Matthew yelled. "Now Alfred thinks I have a national igloo."

**24. Rope**

Sometimes, Maria and Matthew get together and talk about tying Alfred up and gagging him just to get some peace and quiet.

**25. Date Night**

Canada and America have a very close relationship and are each other's most important trade partners. So Matthew and Alfred often get together for a "date night" (Sarah's term) and have a night on the town. But it would go so much better if Matthew wasn't invisible to the server when they stand in line at McDonald's.

**26. 911**

It's a cruel joke. There's blood running down Alfred's face and he's reaching for the phone to call 911. The date is September 11th. 911. Numbers that are supposed to stand for aid and emergency rescue- a number that leads to hope- is now a number that stands for fear and violence.

**27. Jinx**

A day after Sarah delivers the chicken soup, she finds out that there's someone in her province with Swine Flu. She's also run out of chicken broth. Sarah is always jinxing herself like that.

**28. Pam Anderson**

"Keep her, please." Matthew begged Alfred. "I'm afraid all that silicon will pollute the air."

**29. Day of the Dead**

Maria smiled at the ghostly whispers that passed by her ears as she made the _pan de muerto. _There was something soothing about the thought that lost loved ones were never truly lost.

**30. Dairy Queen**

Alfred is in Hell. Alfred is eating a DQ blizzard in Hell while sitting in a Dairy Queen restaurant. And that is totally awesome!

**31. Ugly Stick**

When most people say that they're going to beat you with an ugly stick, it's just an expression. When Sarah says it, it's literal. And she just so happens to have an ugly stick in her closet.

**32. Snow**

Matthew, Sarah and Alfred are all used to snow. But for Maria, it is always a new experience, a new adventure. There is something enlightening about visiting other countries.

**33. Free Health Care**

Matthew had been deep in a conversation with another nation about the current issues in Canadian politics when Alfred interrupted in a loud, horrified shriek, "Oh my God, you're a commie!"

"What are you on about?" Matthew asked.

"You're a commie! A red! You have _free health care!_"

"Yeah, so? It's actually kinda cool."

"Blasphemy!"

**34. Jean Chretien**

There are a lot of brilliant comedians in Canada but Matthew finds that they're all second rate to another.

"I do not know this [pepper stray]. For me, pepper, I put it on my plate."

Matthew smirked. Jean Chretien was much more amusing anyway.

**35. AU! End of the World **

The waters of the ocean are boiling and the sky is red with dying ember. Nations and their people are trapped on whatever land mass they had been occupying when the end happened. Sarah, Maria, Alfred and Matthew are separated from their elder siblings by the boiling ocean. And so they cling together, the dying songs of North America.

**36. Sparkly**

Alfred was angry. Everyone he knew was laughing at him to his face and even Matthew, sweet, kind, never rude Matthew, was having difficulty keeping his laughter to himself.

"Goddamn sparkly vampires." Alfred muttered, wishing that he had never heard of the Twilight books.

**37. Name Change**

"It's official!" Sarah proclaims cheerfully to the room. "Everyone has to call me Newfoundland _and _Labrador now. No more ignoring the other half of me!"

**38. Hockey**

Blood was pouring from Matthew's nose but he ignored it in order to knock some poor sap from the other team into the side of the ice rink. Then he started a huge fight that involved six guys and took the ref ten minutes to break up.

"Your brother turns into a completely different guy on the ice." Maria took Sarah.

Sarah shrugged. "Well, it _is_ hockey."

**39. Freedom**

They've all watched blood be shed in the name of freedom; blood from civil wars and international conflicts, blood on ice and earth in attempts to make a living so they could survive in time for freedom to come. They've all shed blood in the line of duty; their commitment to the mortal souls that trust and love them.

**40. Stars**

Maria knows this lovely place on her lands that has few buildings and wide expanses of sky. The other nations are nowhere near her but she knows they've found their spots of quiet serenity and that they have joined her in star gazing.

For it is the sky that truly connects the world.

**41. Play Time**

As it's an older time, Sarah is in the kitchen doing the dishes while Matthew and Alfred run wild outdoors. She's the girl and cleaning is a girl's job- it is an older time- but she would have done it anyway, because Sarah is hard working. But that doesn't mean that she doesn't have her fun.

When she catches sight of two blond heads running towards the kitchen window she prepares herself. And just as the boys are about to run past her, she dumps soapy water out through the window and onto their heads.

"Oops, I didn't see you there."

The boys race into the house and chase their sister around and out of doors until the three of them collapse in an exhausted pile on the cool grass, laughing.

**42. The New World**

Antonio, Arthur and Francis get together sometimes, when they're not fighting, to discuss the little charges they've taken in. Even quiet Matthew has such a streak in him that it shocks the three adults.

"Well, it is the New World. It's going to be a little wild and untamed." Antonio says.

"Yes, but did Alfred have to challenge Maria and Sarah to a tree climbing battle royal? They look positively wild now and I do not even want to contemplate how you and I are going to get the branches out of the girls' hair." Arthur says.

"At least you did not find them surrounded by ten gigantic, hungry polar bears." Francis says. "I found Mathieu trying to make civil conversation with them."

The three men all sighed deeply.

**43. Special Dish**

Be a Hero in all things is Alfred's motto. So he refuses to eat anything but Maria's most spicy foods when visiting the nation in her country. So Maria created the most taste bud destroying dish she could think of. Alfred goes after that dish in much the same way that he does at horror movies, as if eating such a dish makes one a hero, and he'll eat it every time he sees it; even though the first time he ate it, it put him in the hospital.

**44. Drugs**

Matthew loves his Tim Horton's coffee to the point that his friends and family think that the recipe must call for crack cocaine.

**45. Wounded**

Sarah is with the men that day as one of the few female soldiers. She's fighting for Arthur but she's dying for the people who love and need her most; her mortal souls. And she's at Beaumont Hamel and she's being shot down by German soldiers. So many men will die but she cannot.

But the scar from the wound will always be there.

**46. Outrage**

"I can't believe that he actually asked you to help him hurt me!" Alfred is livid and has a copy of the Zimmerman Telegram clenched in his hand.

Maria isn't totally surprised. America may be neutral but the nation has been selling weapons to both sides and making a profit. Germany might see him as a threat.

But he's too angry to listen to reason and Maria feels no need to excuse Ludwig and his government. She would be angry if someone went to Alfred to get him to help attack her.

Alfred managed shaky smile although he was still angry. "Thanks for not going along with him."

"Think nothing of it." Maria said, for she truly did not want the enemy that Ludwig had just made.

**47. Family**

Matthew, Sarah and Alfred all scurry pass Arthur and into the arms of their just-arrived aunt and uncles. Twins Ilane and Magnus, along with brothers James and Padrig, smile and laugh at the chibi sized children that cling to them. Arthur smiles at the sight of all his siblings being together, happy, and spoiling the children.

For it takes a village to raise a child.

**48. Big Balls**

"My balls are bigger." Matthew said.

Alfred spits out his drink in shocked horror and crosses his legs defensively. "What?"

Matthew blinks. "Ah, the footballs. They're bigger in Canada. Um, are you okay?"

**49. Sleepover**

Sometimes political conferences last a couple of days and the nations have to host sleepovers. It is easy to tell who the host is.

At Matthew's house, meals always involve enough maple syrup to cause diabetes. At Alfred's house, they have to spend the whole night watching scary movies. At Maria's house, they watch stars on beautiful beaches before rushing to the hospital as Alfred insists on eating Maria's super special spicy dish that destroys taste buds.

It's all very typical.

**50. Songs of the North West**

Their differences made them beautiful. And to showcase that, Matthew (with Sarah's help), Maria and Alfred would gather up the music of artists from all over their countries and listen to it. Together, united in music, the true spirit of the northwestern world was revealed.

**Notes:**

1. Peter Easton is likely the most successful pirate ever. He worked for the crown as a privateer and attacked the Spanish. He was also supposed to protect the English fishing fleet in Newfoundland. When his privateer status was taken away, he went into piracy. He operated along the Newfoundland coastline from 1611 to 1614 with his headquarters on the island (as a pirate). No fleet ever took him down.

2. In Newfoundland, "crooked" means grumpy, in a bad mood, sulky, etc. On mainland Canada, it means dishonest, etc.

3. Captain America is a superhero from Marvel comics that fought in WWII. He was created during the second world war by Marvel to boost American patriotism. James Bond is a British creation but it is believed that the spy part of him is based on William Stephenson, a Canadian intelligence officer during both world wars who went by the codename "Intrepid."

"James Bond is a highly romanticized version of a true spy. The real thing is...William Stephenson." –Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond.

5. My friend, Andrea, is Mexican. She would bring candy to school (like push pops, etc.) and stick it in the most disgusting concoction ever. It was some sort of chili with salt or sugar in it, I can't remember, but you can't buy that sort of chili powder in Newfoundland. She made it. And she claimed that it was something they did in Mexico.

6. Cheech and Chong is a comedy duo with lots of references to drugs. Cheech is actually American but he's Mexican decent. Chong is Canadian. So Alfred is mistaking Cheech and Chong's drugged out hippie-ness as being representative of Mexico and Canada.

7. Mexico's national anthem had lots of war reference, America's has references to war, and Canada's has reference to the north. No mention of war.

9. Superman comes across as being the all-American man to me. But he was actually created by Joe Shuster, a Canadian artist from Toronto.

11. War of 1812. Canadians, with British aide, fight America and burn down the White House.

12. Due South is a joint Canadian-American television show about a Mountie that goes into the States to find the killer of his dad. Benton Fraser is super polite to the point that it is a problem and annoys his Italian-American cop friend a lot. But every woman Fraser meets think he's an Adonis.

13. It is illegal to club baby seals in Newfoundland so if anyone ever tells you that we do club them here THEY ARE LYING. Also, white coats can't swim. So if you believe killing seals is wrong, never try to save them by putting them into the water. They will drown. Only the adults swim. By the way, I support the seal hunt. I support anyone that does not believe in killing animals but please- if you cannot support the seal hunt- a hunt where the animals are wild and free and are not treated cruelly- them please do not support slaughter houses where the animals are kept in cages. We do not have the right to choose to only kill animals we think are ugly and let the cute ones live.

14. Do mainland Canadians really say "aboot" instead of "about"? I've never heard it.

15. George Street in downtown Newfoundland has more bars per square mile than anywhere else in North America. It's a tourist attraction! And Canadian beer has higher alcohol content than American beer.

16. The Zimmerman Telegram was sent to Mexico in WWI by Germany. It asked Mexico to support Germany in war against the US and in return, Germany would give Mexico money and return Mexico's former territory in the US. But Mexico would not be able to use the money to buy weapons because the US made the weapons. They did not want to go to war with the US and war with the US would strain Mexico's relations with Argentina, Chile and Brazil.

17. Star Wars: the Sci-Fi movies. Also, the nickname of The Strategic Defense Initiative, as a proposal by President Ronald Reagan, to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles.

18-19. Newfoundland joined Canada on March 31, 1949. Some folks wanted to join the US… I could have been an American! But mostly it was talk of staying a nation or being Canadian so the vote was to stay a nation or join Canada and Canada won with, like, 52% of the votes.

20. Tomatoes hail from Mexico and were used by the Aztecs. The Spanish found these tomatoes and distributed them to all Spanish colonies.

22. 60's Batman with Adam West; everything is labeled. Watch the movie; at the end of the ladder there's a sign that says "Bat Ladder." My friend is amazed by it… but not in a good way, I think.

23. Rick Mercer would go down to America and tell them ridiculous things about Canada to see if they knew better. They didn't. He did it for the show "This Hour Has 22 Minutes." Rick is a famous Newfoundlander.

26. September 11th is the date of the terrorist attack on the World Trade towers in New York, which is abbreviated as 911 (nine eleven). 911 (nine-one-one) is the number that one dials to call the police or ambulance in an emergency. I always thought it was ironic and I thought that maybe that's why the terrorists chose that particular date.

27. A day after I wrote the drabble about the swine flu, the first case of it was discovered in central Newfoundland. Apparently I jinxed my province. But it's a very mild case, which is good.

28. Pam Anderson is Canadian and is planning to return to Canada when she retires. I think the US can keep her.

29. _Pan de muerto_ is egg bread baked for the Mexican holiday of the Day of the Dead. The holiday is a celebration in which it is believed that the spirits of the dead return to visit the living. At least, that's the rough description.

30. There is a Dairy Queen in Hell (Michigan). I _love_ that. Thanks for the info, Michigander, yah.

31. An ugly stick is a musical instrument in Newfoundland and Labrador named for the fact that's it so strange looking. It's a big stick, like a broom stick, with bottle caps and bells and things like that attached. You beat it with another stick. Yes world, this is my heritage. It is strange.

34. Jean Chretien was prime minister of Canada from 1993-2003. Once, in a conference, he was asked for his opinion on protesting and the use of mace on protestors. Well, he didn't know what mace was and when it was clarified as pepper spray, he said that it must be a new technique and that he put pepper on his plate. Chretien is a funny man but not on purpose. His face is partially paralyzed and he didn't learn English until age 30 so he's hard to understand. That's when amusement happens.

37. The province of Newfoundland and Labrador was not always called that. The name of the province was officially just Newfoundland despite Labrador being part of the province. In 2001, the name was officially changed to Newfoundland and Labrador.

45. The Newfoundland Regiment was wiped out at Beaumont Hamel during WWI at the battle of the Somme; only 10% of the men were at roll call the next day. This battle would earn the regiment the new title "Royal Newfoundland Regiment." It's actually been stated once that much of Newfoundland's economic difficulties following the First World War was due to the fact that there was such a dramatic loss of men.

46. The Zimmerman Telegram is one of the things that really convinced the States to join in during WWI.

47. Ilane= North Ireland, Magnus= Ireland, James= Scotland, Padrig= Wales. These countries played a big part in settling North America. I don't think there're too many Welsh in Newfoundland but my own personal heritage is Scottish and Irish on Dad's half and English with some French on Mom's.

48. Canadian footballs are bigger than American footballs. I think the football fields in Canada are also bigger than their American counterparts.


End file.
